Better thinking

bias

How often does strong arming someone into doing something work out in the long run? Last week’s post talked about situations that involve communicating ideas to a skeptical audience and the need to sometimes force trust quickly, rather than earning it over a longer period of time. This type of approach carries a price — forced… Continue Reading

“I need to understand why I would lease machines from you when I just spent millions of dollars on similar machines last year? What do I do with the machines I’ve already bought? Our last meeting didn’t address this question, so I hope you’ve got something better this time.” – Unhappy Executive The above comes from… Continue Reading

The life and death survival instincts humans developed thousands of years ago are still an important factor today. Controlled by the oldest part of our brain, the amygdala (aka crocodile brain), these instincts play a nuanced role in determining how well we do in important conversations, especially sharing new ideas with people we don’t know. The croc brain… Continue Reading

​I believe there’s quite a bit of truth to the idea that we each invent our reality. Within the context of this reality our decisions are right, and we will almost certainly reject anything or anyone who tells us we’re wrong. In fact, how can we be sure that what works well for others, would… Continue Reading

How do you approach difficult decisions like switching careers, or dealing with competition, versus everyday decisions like the route you take to work, or the time you go to bed? In his book “Thinking Fast and Slow” Daniel Kahneman, tells us that most of the time the answer is the same: Many of our decisions are… Continue Reading